


Joy to the Fishes in the Deep Blue Sea

by MotherOfBeardedDragons



Series: Petvengers [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, Fish, Gen, Science Bros, petvengers, thor gets really into marine biology, various avenger cameos - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-21 20:31:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15565848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MotherOfBeardedDragons/pseuds/MotherOfBeardedDragons
Summary: Thor discovers that Midgardians put pet fish on display in aquariums and is thrilled. He immerses himself in learning about marine biology so that he might have his own aquarium. The rest of the Avengers are supportive of their friend's new hobby.





	Joy to the Fishes in the Deep Blue Sea

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not an expert on Asgardian wildlife or culture, but it's my headcanon that while Asgard has fish they don't have aquariums and they aren't kept as pets. So Thor knows what fish are, he's just never really seen them outside of the occasional lake, ocean, pond etc. 
> 
> All the works in the Petvengers series can stand alone.

   Steve had suggested that the team do a monthly bonding activity to build up morale. This, of course, had been mets with various groans (Clint), eye-rolling (Natasha), and snide comments (Tony). But everyone finally agreed to take part. Things turned into a fiasco when Steve asked for ideas- most of which involved drinking or activities of questionable legality. After much debate and arguing it was finally decided that the team would go to the zoo. 

   So on a crisp fall day the large group found themselves wandering around the zoo that Tony had rented out after hours. Thor had left Bruce, Clint, Natasha looking at the rhinos- they reminded him too much of Bilgesnipe. He took a deep breath of the crisp fall air and admired the changing leaves. He had really enjoyed bonding with his teammates and learning about Midgardian wildlife. He decided to wander into the aquarium complex. 

   Asgard had fish. He knew what fish were. But he had never seen so many beautiful fish on display. He smiled as he watched a school of fish swim in harmony. They had colors and stripes and moved gracefully. 

   “Enjoying the fish?” Thor turned to see Matt standing on the other side of the room. 

   “We do not display fish like this on Asgard,” Thor said still looking in amazement, “we have fish, of course, but we do not collect them. I did not realize there was this much variety.”

   Matt nodded, “People make whole careers out of studying marine life on Earth.”

   “It’s fascinating,” Thor said approaching a tank with seahorses.

   “I think so. I like to listen to the water currents and the underwater sounds.”

   “Midgardians do have a fascination with water,” Thor replied. 

   “Looks like you do too,” Matt said amused. He could tell by the Asgardian’s increased heart rate that he was excited. Thor was moving from tank to tank and reading all of the information like a kid in a candy store. 

   Thor spent the next three hours in the aquarium. That night he pulled up all the information on marine biology that he could find on the tablet Tony had given him. He was surprised to learn that Midgardians kept fish as pets in their homes. 

   Clint came into the common room to find Thor watching an underwater nature documentary and reading a book about setting up home aquariums.  

   “What the hell is that thing?,” Clint asked as he stared at the gigantic fish on the screen shaped like a pancake with fins. It was ugly, yet somehow adorable.

   “I believe it is the Ocean Sunfish, or the  _ Mola mola _ . They are the heaviest known bony fish in the world,” Thor replied glancing at the screen. 

   “Cool,” Clint replied shoving aside a pile of marine biology books and sitting on the couch. Some people might find it weird when someone they know is suddenly an expert on a random topic. Clint had spent enough time around Tony “I became an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics last night” Stark to not be phased by Thor’s newfound expertise. 

   “I am hoping to build an aquarium,” Thor informed him nodding at the book he was reading.

   “You should tell Tony, I’m sure he’d jump at the chance to build something.” Tony had been restless and had been “repairing” things around the tower. His idea of repairing being taking things apart and adding unnecessary upgrades. Clint still wouldn’t forgive him for what he did to the coffee maker. Maybe if Tony had a project he’d leave things alone. 

   “Do you think he would be willing to help me with this endeavor?,” Thor asked. 

   “Hell yeah, man. You’ll end up with a super pimped out aquarium.”

   This was how, several days later, Thor found himself in Tony’s lab with the scientist showing him prototypes of various aquariums he had designed. Tony had spent the last 24 hours learning everything he could about aquariums and aquatics. 

   “So, a lot of it depends on what type of fish you want. Freshwater, saltwater, etc. Have you decided?,” Tony asked taking a swig of an energy drink. 

   “I have. I think I will raise koi,” Thor said nodding. He had been drawn to the large, wise-looking fish. He appreciated their vivid colors and calm demeanor. 

   “Koi?,” Tony asked. He hadn’t planned on that. He furrowed his brow in thought. 

   “Will that be a problem? I was also looking at angelfish if that will be more conducive to your designs…”

   “Holy shit!,” Tony yelled swiping all of the blueprints off the table onto the floor with a loud crash, “This will be awesome!” He pulled up a new digital blueprint and began swiping frantically. 

   “What is happening?,” Thor asked confused. He should be used to Tony’s outbursts, or strokes of genius as he referred to them, by now.

   “Indoor koi pond!,” Tony replied excitedly. He had drawn a very rough outline of what he was thinking. It was a raised platform made to look like a pond with waterfalls, plants, decor, and a small bridge. There was a clear viewing area on the bottom. 

   Thor smiled, “I like it.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Tony had turned half of Thor’s living room into a beautifully ornate koi pond in less than a week. They had even recruited Bruce to help test the water quality and prepare the pond for the fish. Tony had put in a powerful hidden filtration system. 

   “We still have to let the system cycle for a while,” Thor said looking at the results of Bruce’s latest water quality test. Tony and Bruce had figured out how to speed the process up so Thor would be able to add fish in about a week. 

   “Do you know where you’re getting the fish from?,” asked Bruce. He was trimming a bonsai tree. Thor was painting the bridge and Tony was making some technical adjustments to the lighting.

   “I have found a koi farm a couple of hours away,” Thor informed them. 

   “Well let us know when the koi shopping spree is gonna be,” Tony said. 

   Thor turned to look at him, “You are going to join me?.”

   “Hell yeah we are. We’re definitely going to be apart of your crazy new hobby,” Tony informed him. 

   Thor smiled. It was great to have his friends support him. A lot of people didn’t realize he was more than a warrior. He appreciated beautiful things and taking care of living creatures. He had spent a lot of time in the stables on Asgard.

   “Hey I wanna go too!,” Clint yelled popping out of the air vent above Tony’s head.

   “Jesus H. Christ!,” Tony yelled dropping his screwdriver into the pond. “You’ve gotta stop doing that Barton!” 

   “Well, it was my idea to get you to build the fish tank,” Clint replied dropping from the vent onto a rock, “I should get to go fish shopping too.”

   “You are more than welcome to join us my friend,” Thor said clapping Clint on the shoulder. Unfortunately he used a little more strength than he realized, making Clint lose his footing on the slippery rock and topple into the pond. Tony collapsed on the ground laughing. 

   “Oops,” Thor said, “sorry.” 

   Clint came to the surface sputtering. “Not cool man.”

   “Hey….hey Barton,” Tony said trying to control his laughter, “dive down and get my screwdriver.” Tony wiped away some tears and struggled to catch his breath. 

   “Asshole,” Clint muttered, diving to the bottom of the pond. Bruce waved at him through the viewing glass and chuckled when Clint flipped him off. After a moment he broke the surface of the water and threw the screwdriver at Tony’s head. Thor reached out and caught it before it hit the scientist in the face. 

   The four managed to get work done despite their antics and the pond was ready. They planned a day to visit the koi farm and celebrated with pizza and beers.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Less than a week later the four piled into a jeep and drove to the koi farm. Tony had designed a transport tank and installed it into the back of the car. The three made it  to the farm surprisingly uneventfully and ambushed a bewildered owner who had not been expecting a god, a billionaire, a scientist, and a spy to jump out of a car and converge on them. 

   After giving the poor guy some time to gather his thoughts, he began showing them around. There were multiple ponds with different sized fish in various colors swimming around. 

   “How many were you looking to get?,” the man, who had introduced himself as Joe, asked. 

   “I was looking at around twelve,” Thor replied, “I have a very large indoor pond.”

   The man nodded, “Well, feel free to look around. Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll come catch ‘em  for you.”

   The four thanked him and walked around, browsing the fish. 

   “Hey, this one looks like Tony!,” Clint said excitedly pointing to a reddish fish with gold coloring mixed in. The fish even had black on his face that appeared to give him a goatee. 

   “Well, he must be one handsome son of a bitch,” Tony replied coming over. “Huh. Look at that. Thor, you need to get Iron Fish.”

   “Ooh, this one looks like Natasha,” Clint said pointing to another fish. It was a beautiful black fish with reddish coloring around the head. “Don’t tell her I said she looked like a fish,” Clint quickly added.

   The four made a game of trying to find fish that looked like various teammates. They found a large gold koi for Thor, a blue and red one for Steve, one with almost purple coloring for Clint, and even a greenish one for Bruce. 

   “Thor,” Clint said suddenly serious. “You can have the fishvengers.” 

   The three stared at him for a moment, then all four burst out laughing and talking excitedly. They picked out some more fish for the rest of their teammates- an all red one for Matt; a black and gray one for Bucky; a red, gold, and blue one for Doctor Strange; a smaller red and black one for Peter; plus several more for their various friends and super-acquaintances. Thor even found a green, black and gold one for Loki (he looked forward to seeing his brother’s expression when he told him he named a fish after him). 

   Several hour later the fish were caught and safely packed up in the tank in the back of the car. Thor also bought a ton of pond supplies and food. The four took a picture with the koi farm owner with plans to post it on social media to give the man a boost in business. He had told them that he was a third generation koi farmer, but business had been slow. It wouldn’t be long after they posted the picture. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   The four managed to get the travel tank up to the pond and did one more water test before Thor began carefully placing the fish in the pond. The three men watched amused; they had seen Thor in battle and seen him accidentally destroy countless doors and furniture. It was nice to get a glimpse at his gentler side as he carefully transferred fish after fish lovingly into their new home.    

   “Look at them swimming around!,” Thor excitedly yelled looking through the glass. “They’re beautiful!.”

   He hadn’t remembered being this excited in a long time. It was like Yule, or what the Midgardians called Christmas. 

   “You know, we should have a party,” Tony said, surprising no one. He looked for any and all excuses to throw a party. “Everyone needs to meet their fishsonas,” he stated. 

   So a week later the team was once again gathered in the Tower for a party. Lucky and Puggles were excitedly watching the fish swim around. There were drinks and music as Thor excitedly introduced everyone to their koi counterpart. He enjoyed seeing their reactions. 

   As he had thought, Loki rolled his eyes and moved over to another part of the room muttering about how Thor was an idiot. Natasha smiled as she watched Fish Widow swim gracefully. Doctor Strange used magic to make an illusion of a cloak appear on his koi. Steve and Bucky were happy their koi were hanging out together. Peter, of course, freaked out about Spiderfish. Overall the fishvengers were a hit. 

   Thor fell asleep that night watching his koi swim around and smiling at the happy memories of the day and the time he had spent with his friends. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Over the next few months Tony invented more fish technology. He made a travel fish suitcase to Thor could take the koi on outings. It looked like a large cube on wheels and had built in filters and lighting. He also made Thor a fish briefcase he could carry. It  began to be a common sight around town to see the Norse god running errands with one of his koi by his side. 

   For his birthday that year the team presented Thor with a very special koi fish. It was bright and rainbow colored and looked like the bifrost. 

   “Me and Bruce worked with Joe to create a new coloration of koi he can sell. Meet the Asgardian koi fish.” 

   “I am honored to have such a creature named after my homeland,” Thor said excitedly. The team watched happily as Thor ran to put the beautiful koi with its new friends. 

   “Who would have thought the God of Thunder would love fish,” Clint stated as he rolled around on the floor with Lucky.

   “Maybe he should change his name to Poseidon,” Tony replied.

   Thor excitedly posted a video of the new fish on the Petvengers Instagram account the team had made to show off their pets. 

**Author's Note:**

> Fishvengers! 
> 
> Info. on Ocean Sunfish comes from Wikipedia. Info. on koi comes from Google and my experiences working in a pet store. I realize koi don't actually come in all those colors, but with all the science in the Marvel universe it would be possible.
> 
> I only haphazardly proofread this and it wasn't beta'd so sorry for any mistakes.


End file.
